Indigenous Beauty

This spring, Seattle has the opportunity to see some of the most stunning works of American Indian art ever made.

Marvel at nearly 2,000 years of amazing skill and invention. Linger over drawings, sculptures, baskets, beaded regalia, and masks.

The immense variety of Indigenous Beauty: Masterworks of American Indian Art from the Diker Collection reflects the diversity of Native cultures. This superb exhibition offers more than great works of art and cultural artifacts—it is an invitation to explore other worlds.

Deeply engaged with cultural traditions and the land, indigenous artists over the centuries have used art to represent and preserve their ways of life. Even during the 19th and 20th centuries, when drastic changes were brought by colonization, artists brilliantly adapted their talents and used the new materials available to them to marvelous effect.

The works in Indigenous Beauty will inspire wonder, curiosity, and delight. Come experience the vast beauty of indigenous art from all across North America.

The guest curator for this exhibition is David Penney. Local curator is Barbara Brotherton, Curator of Native American Art at the Seattle Art Museum.

Indigenous Beauty: Masterworks of American Indian Art from the Diker Collection is organized by the American Federation of Arts. This exhibition was made possible by the generosity of an anonymous donor, the JFM Foundation, and Mrs. Donald M. Cox.

Western Arctic

ANCIENT SUNGLASSES

​Because of the strong refle​​ction of the sun on snow or on the water, people living in the Arctic need to wear eye protection. What did they use centuries before glass or plastic lenses became available?

​These sunglasses were carved from driftwood with inlay of walrus ivory to look like eyes and a nose. The wearer looked out from the oval incisions above. A hunter—of sea mammals, bears, or caribou—car​ved these around the time of the Viking Expeditions and the European Middle Ages.​​

THE SURREAL AND SERIOUS DREAM

Drumming, dancing, and storytelling are importan​t aspects of winter life in the Arctic. It is a time of darkness and cold with the specter of spirits all around. Community members retreat to the warmth and social security of the men’s ceremonial house (called
qasgiq) to have prayerful exchanges with the spirits of the Arctic universe (which are represented by the hoop bent around the main face of the mask), especially those that help humans survive. This mask looks like a montage of disconnected elements, which is exactly why the Surrealist artists in the early 20th century collected ones like it. While the disparate elements appear to be conjured up from a dream, and were in fact based on the visions of shamans, they sincerely honor the game animals that make survival in the Arctic possible, including fish, waterfowl, and seals. Notice the human hand whose fingers appear to grip the fish from behind the mask.

Eastern Subarctic

WHEN A COAT ISN’T JUST A COAT​

The Naskapi people made coats not simply for warmth and protection, but also for religious reasons. The Naskapi, a nomadic tribe at one time, relied on the migrating herds of caribou for food, clothing, and other means of survival. Their ability to hunt was dependent on appeasing the spirits of the caribou, which they did through the coats that men wore on the hunt—coats with elaborate details and symbols painted onto the hide of past caribou that had given themselves up to the hunters.

These coats were such an incredibly important part of the Naskapi culture that even after extended contact with European traders, the Naskapi changed only the cut of the garment. Today, anthropologists look at a coat such as this one—made almost 100 years after first contact—and theorize that the traditional design, colors, and material offer proof of the Naskapi’s relative isolation from and even resistance to outside influences.

northwest Coast​​

HOW DO YOU MAKE A GLASS RATTLE?

This contemporary Tlingit artist, Preston Singletary, was inspired by the old wooden rattles but as a glass artist he wanted to make a different version. Singletary works in a studio designed for blowing, shaping, and sandblasting glass. He blew the forms of the large bird with a mountain goat at the back as one piece, then made the human and otter separately and attached them. To make the designs on the surface, a protective tape was affixed in all the places where he wanted raised designs; then he sandblasted the un-taped areas to create the reliefs. The tape was removed to reveal the final piece. There are no “rattlers” inside so this is not a rattle that you shake!​

Great Bas​in and California​

THE DEVIL’S CLAW BASKET

This basket is made from two plants. To make something like this, weavers seek out special, strong plants—like willow and devil’s claw—during particular times of the year when they are best for weaving. Before taking the plants, the women offer a prayer and thank the plant for giving itself.

The plants are then dried and cut into strands. Willow pieces form the foundation rods, which are then completely covered with the more of the light-colored willow and the dark-colored devil’s claw. (The official name of devil’s claw is
Proboscidea parviflora, but it is called devil's claw because the flowering plant's seed pods split into two pointed “horns” that are rich, dark black).​

Southwest

NO ORDINARY DOLL

Katsina dolls were traditionally given to young girls during ceremonies in order to teach them about the Katsina spirits and their roles as wome​n. Boys might receive small bows and arrows to teach them about their future as hunters.

From December until July, dancers with masks and costumes to personify different Katsinam spirit beings (most associated with rain, fertility, and the harvest) perform in the public square of the Pueblo. After the 1920s, these dolls were carved as elaborate sculptures intended for sale to outsiders.​

NEW LIFE FOR OLD POTS

Husband and wife Julian and Mari​a Martinez worked together to make this and many other ceramic pots and jars. Clay from special areas was gathered and mixed with old potshards. The vessels were hand-modeled—in other words, shaped by placing coils of clay one on top of the other then smoothing the surface. A fire of wood or sheep dung was made and an “oven” of metal scraps put up around it. The pots were fired within; the potters knowing just the right temperature and time needed to produce the desired results.

Julian would burnish Maria’s pot to a fine shine and paint motifs (such as this water serpent) on the outside.​

Plate​au and Plains​

​MOVING DAY ON THE GREAT PLAINS

This elaborate sculpture depicts all the items that a family might need when moving camp from one place to another. The particular clothing of the woman and children—even the horse’s and calf’s headgear—tells us that they are Apsáalooke (Crow). The mother drags a travois (cart made of wood and hide) that carries her children. She has several types of decorated bags that carry the tipi and other household goods, a lance (also in a beaded bag), and a riding whip.​​

FROM A WARRIOR’S VIEWPOINT

The artist Swift Dog made this drawing in 1890 on a piece of paper from a ledger book used for accounting by the U.S. military. Once a warrior for his Standing Rock Sioux community, Swift Dog be​gan to record his war exploits using watercolor and ink during the Reservation Period. In earlier times he would have drawn these battle scenes on a buffalo robe or a tipi.

This image depicts Swift Dog on a horse wearing a bone breastplate and feathered headdress, and carrying a protective shield painted with a Thunderbird. Having dodged two arrows, he points a lance at a Crow warrior.​

BEAD-DAZZLED!

This fancy bag was carefully cut from wool into this envelope shape and covered with tiny glass beads in intricate designs. The shapes are mostly abstracted floral motifs, a style that was inspired by the embroidery and lacework of Euro-Americans who came to the Eastern Woodlands and Southeast. Some geometric elements on the fringes of the strap reflect an earlier Native preference for abstract geometric designs. Red tassels acquired in trade further accentuate the beauty of this bag.

The style of this bag was modified from those of older pouches originally worn by Native men and later desired by fur traders and hunters. So, this piece is a combination of a traditional type (a man’s bag, originally made of hide) and a new look (floral motifs) and new materials (beads, wool, silk tassels).​​

ADVENTURES OF THE TRAVELING CUP

Imagine all the places this cup may have traveled and the people who may have owned it between 1820 and now.

Carved from wood and depicting a beaver on the handle, this handy item could be attached to a waist belt for easy access when needing a drink. The Anishinaabe people had animal “totems” or family emblems that identified them; the beaver was one of these. Native peoples of the Northeast and Great Lakes came into contact with French and English trappers beginning in the 18th century and often traded items during these encounters.

This cup may have passed through the hands of newcomers: it is the kind of thing that might have been bartered for metal, cloth, or beads desired by Natives.​​

Audio Tour

To learn more about
Indigenous Beauty, take home a copy of the exhibition catalogue. Learn more about these amazing works, the artists that created them, and the cultures they came from. With essays by: David W. Penney, associate director of museum scholarship at the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.; Janet Catherine Berlo, professor of art history and visual and cultural studies at the University of Rochester; Bruce Bernstein, executive director of the Continuous Pathways Foundation, Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; Barbara Brotherton, curator of Native American art at the Seattle Art Museum; Joe D. Horse Capture, associate curator at the National Museum of the American Indian; and Susan Secakuku, Hopi curator and consultant for museums and cultural organizations. (Published by the American Federation of Arts with Skira Rizzoli, 2015.)​​

Kids 12 and under are always free at SAM!

Bring your family to see Indigenous Beauty! This exhibition is great for kids and adults alike. Pick up a Kids Activity Guide at the Ticketing Desk on your way upstairs and work on it together in the galleries. ​